Kingdom Hearts III: Tied to the Darkness
by D.M Watson
Summary: Within every heart lies darkness. It is that darkness that manifests itself into the ultimate power: hate. In saying this, all hearts are corrupted with the ability to hate. Even Sora, as he and Co. fight off the power of evil, they cannot help but...


Kingdom Hearts III: Tied to the Darkness

By: D.M Watson

Chapter 1: The Ties that Bind

On a white-sandy beach, waters clearer than the blue skies it reflected, three teenagers sat in the shade of an old, twisted palm tree, its limbs hanging low enough to the ground that three may sit together in solitary silence. The tallest one was on the left, wearing the long dark, billowing robes, that of the then defeated Organization XIII. His hair had grown longer, it's white sheen glinting brilliantly in the solitary patch of sunlight that glanced through the soft breeze of shade. He had fiery green-blue eyes that reflected the mysteries of the ocean in which he sat in front of. Next to him sat a girl, no more than fifteen years of age. She had an orange-red hair color that, like the sun, shined brightly. She had sky-blue eyes that seemed always full of happiness and mischievousness. She wore a white, sleeveless tank top, pink shorts and pink and white flip-flops. She too, like Riku were staring into the clear ocean waters. And on the right of them both, next to Kairi, sat Sora. His spiky-brown hair had grown shoulder-length, lightly brushing the black, soft material given to him from Master Yen-Sid three fairies. His navy blue eyes, so like Kairi's were full of happiness and relief from the final battle with Organization XIII.

So much responsibility had been thrust on the three teenager friends. Such of as the fate of the entire galaxy in which they resided. Not long ago, it seemed, that Sora had become the Bearer of the Keyblade. That fateful night on Destiny Island seemed like a dream to him, almost. It would have been, had he not been on the edge of death itself, persevering only because of his trust in friendship, and the firm faith of the light. It seemed that not long ago, Riku, whose heart had been overtaken by the dark, had challenged him, nearly destroying the friend whom he had grown up with in the waters of Destiny Island. Not long ago that, on a whim, he had searched the worlds far and wide, in search of Kairi and Riku, hoping, praying with every ounce of his being that they might be alive and well somewhere out of harm's way. And it seemed that his prayers had been answered. Almost. And then, Organization XIII and the Nobodies. As if the Heartless were not bad enough. The powerful Nobodies of Organization XIII weren't Heartless. But much, much more cleverer and deadlier. They had once controlled a group of beings called the Lesser Nobodies, Nobodies who could not think for themselves, and took orders from the Higher Nobodies.

Sora slowly came out of reverie and slowly lifted his right arm. In a flash of light and a _chink!_-ing sound, the Oathkeeper Keyblade appeared, snapping Riku and Kairi out of their dreamy state also. The three band of friends looked at each other in relief and sadness. Kairi was the first to speak, as usual,

"So…" She said, trying to sound casual. The others knew that Kairi was anything BUT casual and grinned. "It seems as if it's finally over, isn't it?" Sora slowly nodded his heading. But deep down in his heart, he knew that that battle was far from over. It was as Ansem had said, 'darkness lurks within every heart.' It seemed as if it were the only thing that Sora had remembered what he had said. Within _every_ heart. Including his own. True enough he knew he had to face his inner demons soon enough, but that would come later.

"Who knows?" Riku said. "Personally, I can't wait to get into some more action. It was boring enough without anything to do here." Sora scoffed and said,

"Yeah, right. As if being trapped in Ansem's body wasn't gruesome enough for you not to want anymore action in a long time." The three friends shared a laugh and Kairi jumped down from the palm tree's lowered branch.

"So. How about a race? For old time's sake? To the cave near the waterfall." Riku and Sora looked over at each other incredulously. Then they simultaneously looked at Kairi as if she had grown a third leg. Almost at once they complained.

"Oh come on- my back hurts."

"We just got back."

"Let's relax a little."

"I have a stiff neck." At this, Kairi simply raised an eyebrow and said in a casual, but challenging voice,

"Oh, I see. Neither wants to get beaten by a girl." The two childhood friends looked at each other again and they both jumped off the old branch next to Kairi on both sides.

"You asked for it," Riku said, his trademark smirk on his face.

"I second that," Sora added, grinning widely.

"On the count of three then," Kairi said. "One…two-three!" And she took off leaving the two boys behind. They looked at her for a while as she ran before looking at each other.

"Now?" Sora asked. Riku shook his head no, waiting for the perfect moment.

"Now!" Riku shouted, and they both took off after her, quickly catching up and passing her. Riku quickly pulled ahead of Sora by a few steps, his longer strides quickly surpassing Sora's shorter ones. Riku looked back at Sora grinning madly as they rounded the corner to the shack where the cave waited.

"_Valor!_" Sora shouted, and his outfit turned a lava-red, his steps multiplying a hundred fold. He shot past Riku and into the small cave where he had to duck low to enter now that he had gotten a lot taller. Once inside the dimly lit cave where he and Kairi had once played, he changed back to his original form and lit the torches with a short, "_Fire!"_ spell. Riku entered next and later Kairi, both panting from heat exhaustion. They both sat against the wall of the cave. Sora stood above then grinning, but also panting. It had been a long time since he had last went into Valor Form.

"You…cheated." Riku said after each breath.

"No…I….didn't." Sora said. They both glared at each other and Kairi laughed.

"Just like old times, guys." She said as they both looked at her. Sora collapsed next to Kairi, leaning against her slightly.

"What do you mean, like old times?" Sora asked. Riku looked over at them and smiled slightly to himself.

"You know, when we used to race and I'd always end up losing even though I had gotten a head start." Riku and Sora laughed.

"Yeah, sure." Riku drawled. "It's not as if you cheated." The trio shared another laugh and they quieted again, think of all the good times they had, had together. (The door had mysteriously disappeared.)

It was near dark outside when Riku stood up and gestured to the other to follow suit. Sora and Kairi obliged and followed Riku out of the small cave. They followed him up the shack and across to the deserted platform where he and Sora used to practice their "dueling skills." He picked up a single star fruit, it's legend signifying the tying of destinies to those who ate its sweet and juicy contents. He split it in three pieces and handed a piece to Sora, and a piece to Kairi. He then motioned for them to lift their hands up as he did. They followed his gestures and the trio's arms curved around each other and each put a piece of the sweet papou fruit into the other's mouth.

If this action were seen by anyone in the village, their position would have looked absolutely ridiculous. But to the three teenagers. The three friends who shared this piece of fruit together. It was simply the _ties that bind._

**A/N: So how was my first fanfic? I know, not terribly original but it has to start somewhere right? I promise that action will be present in the following chapter. Also, please R&R (isn't that Read and Review?). Later in the story, it will go in the direction in which my readers would like me to expand on. (E.G. Sora/Kairi pairing, Riku/Kairi pairing, etc.)**

**A/N(2): Look out for a Final Fantasy VII fanfic coming soon from me. I hope to most likely into the twentieth chapter of THIS story before beginning that particular fanfic, so it may be a while. I have no idea how good I am at dual writing, **_**yet.**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the KH or KH2 characters, worlds, weapons, etc. besides a few minor OC and the plotline. (Otherwise I'm sure I'd be filthy rich.)


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